Act 3 - Depression[]
With A Bared Sword[]
Epilogue - Acceptance[]
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New Foundation, New Earth
Skye March, Lyran Commonwealth
31 December 3058
The balcony overlooking the conference hall wasn’t really private - anyone looking up could see them - but anti-surveillance equipment would ensure that nothing from the latest spytech to old-fashioned lip-reading would let anyone eavesdrop. Once the waiter left the silver tray on the table behind them, they were as alone as they could be.
Victor opened the crystal decanter and poured two fingers into one of the tumblers. “Are you still horrifying father with your drinking?”
His sister laughed lightly and then nodded. “The one time I drank this neat, Mom was furious. It took weeks to get the result out of one of her favorite rugs.”
The Archon joined her in laughing and poured her half as much of the whisky and then used the provided utensils to add ice cubes from the small bucket. He handed that tumbler before taking his own. They clinked glasses before drinking, making sure that they were clearly visible at the edge of the balcony as they did so.
They were performing for the audience, of course. The Archon and First Prince showing that the bonds between them had not been damaged. It was a performance, but as the drink warmed his throat, Victor reminded himself that it wasn’t just a performance.
“It occurs to me,” he said, “That this is the first time in years we’ve met for something other than a funeral.”
“Why break the tradition?” his sister said lightly.
Victor frowned despite himself. “If you throw me off,” he indicated the rail, “then you’ll be left to reunite the two thrones.”
“You misunderstand me.” She sipped again. “We’re here to plan a funeral, Victor. For the Clans.”
“Ha.” The elder threw his head back and laughed. It felt good to do so. When was the last time he’d just… done that?
Too long ago. Too long ago.
“How’s your shadow?” Kate asked him. “I heard he was hurt on Coventry.”
“Taking some time off,” Victor explained. “The doctors say he’s made a full recovery but he’s not taken any serious leave since I met him.”
“Yes, not everyone is a workaholic. Hard as that is to imagine.”
They both drank to that. “I’m not sure about burying the Clans,” he admitted. “But we can say goodbye to 3058. It’s been… one hell of a year.”
Her smile was weak. “Couple of years, really. I was going to ask you: what happened to Peter?”
Victor tipped his head slightly and looked away, over the hall where diplomats from half a dozen realms mingled. The Suns and the Commonwealth. The Republic and the Combine. The Compact and the new Sarnese Supremacy.
“Tormano Liao happened,” he said at last, Kate having let him find the words. “He wanted to provoke a war with the Confederation, forcing me to back him as a contender for the Capellan throne. He talked Peter into leading a regiment of mercenaries to raid what he claimed was a Capellan staging zone on Shiloh in the Free Worlds League. Preparing to attack us, he claimed.” Victor shook his head. “The Harloc Raiders were really there, but it was a training exercise. And Kai uncovered that the Raiders had been forewarned by his uncle…”
“A trap,” she hissed. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know where Peter is. He asked Kai not to...”
“No, I know that.” His sister’s fists were clenched. “I mean, Tormano.”
“I don’t know that, either,” he admitted. “Kai tried to detain him on one of his estates, but he slipped away. Best guess is… somewhere in the mess of worlds that haven’t declared for anyone yet in the Sarna March.”
“Risky,” she criticized. “If there’s anyone who wants him more than us, it would be Sun-Tzu Liao. If he’s wise, he will have left the Inner Sphere - Marik would give him to the Liao and Kurita would hand him over to us.”
“Tormano is cunning, but not exactly wise. Analysts believe his ego would compel him to stay near the center of his remaining influence,” Victor explained. “If Peter died, he might have succeeded in getting the war he wanted. Even if I didn’t go to war, Thomas Marik might have. Not that it mattered in the long run.”
His sister set her mostly empty glass aside and patted his shoulder. “Hindsight can be useful, but don’t get lost in it.”
“Right.” Victor leant on the rail, keeping his face away from the crowd below until he was sure that he was composed again “On the topic of siblings…”
Kate reached for the decanter and topped up her glass, adding more ice. “I’ll trade,” she offered, reaching for Victor’s glass. “Yvonne is doing well. She decided on going to Warrior’s Hall, not back to NAIS. To be closer to Aunt Marie, I think.”
“I would be happier if she was going to the University of Saso. Wasn’t it bad enough that you got into a battle with Death Commandos.”
“Tell me,” she said, handing back the topped up glass and then jabbing his chest with one finger in the freed up hand. “That the Death Commandos are worse than your habit of dancing with the Jade Falcons.”
“Touche.”
“Anyway, she had me promise to build her a ‘mech for her.” The First Prince smirked. “Lycomb-Davion are working on building their own Awesome, basing it on the model the Mariks used against us last year.”
“The quad PPC variant?” Victor asked.
“If she takes the field, she’ll be in one of the toughest ‘mechs around,” Kate promised.
Map of the Sarna Region - End of 3058
Purple is Free Worlds League, Green is Capellan Confederation, Yellow is Federated Suns, Blue is Lyran Commonwealth
Tan is the Sarna Supremacy, Pink is the Saiph Triumvirate, Violet is Styk Commonality, Grey is unaligned worlds.
Sarna, Styk and Saiph are (to varying degrees) pro-Federated Suns and trying for a broadly similar situation to the St Ives Compact. This may or may not involve them unifying into a single state.
The four worlds currently independent don't even have unified governments, their continued existence outside anyone's borders is due to everyone having other priorities. If Tormano Liao surfaces on any of them, there may be race to take that world.
The Archon nodded appreciatively. “Promises have to be kept. Arthur asked one of me when I left him on Tharkad while I fought on Coventry. A real frontline posting, not a March Militia or the capital.”
Kate shook her head wearily. “Boys,” she said in amused derision. “Where are you sending him?”
“Eleventh Lyran Guards, there’s a slot for a company commander in Caradoc Trevana’s battalion.” He paused. “They’re rebuilding this year. But we’ll need to shift them to the frontlines after that. The troops I took to Coventry need to stand down so we’re… a little stretched.”
“I know that feeling.”
Victor smiled slightly and turned around, looking out at the hall. The mix of nationalities reminded him of another such gathering - on Outreach, years ago. With… their parents. “I… Do you ever feel like our parents are watching? Judging us?”
Kate slipped one arm through his. “Watching. But if they were judging anyone, it would be themselves. They would always be harder on themselves than they were on us. They never planned for us to step up this early. In their minds, we’d still be learning from them. I think they’d be sympathetic, not angry.”
He sighed. “That makes me feel worse, to be honest.”
“There were reverses under them. 3039 comes to mind,” his sister said. “It’s a setback, but the dream lives on. We can’t tie everything back together but if the alliance goes on… who knows what the generation after us will do? We just have to keep the dream alive, even if it isn’t the reality yet.”
“And what would you call that dream?”
Kate thought a moment before speaking. “Security, through our shared strength.”
“It’s a nice dream,” he admitted, but before he could say more, there was a chime from the door leading onto the balcony. “We’re not supposed to be disturbed.”
“Must be important then.” Kate went to the wall and manipulated the controls, lowering the privacy enough to activate the intercom. “Who is it?”
“Kai Allard-Liao, your highness,” the guard - one of Curaitis’ discreet agents - reported. “He says that it is important.”
Victor nodded when Kate gave him a questioning look and she unlocked the room.
The tall heir to St Ives entered without ceremony, followed by a larger man that they both knew very well. Two glasses hit the carpeted floor and Victor let his sister tackle Peter first, giving Kai a grateful look before the Archon joined the First Prince in trying to crush the ribs of their prodigal brother.
This Concludes
With A Bared Sword
(A Battletech Alternate Universe by Drakensis)
In learning, you will teach
And in teaching, you will learn
You'll find your place beside the ones you love
Oh, and all the things you dreamed of
The visions that you saw
Well, the time is drawing near now
It's yours to claim it all